Sherzer Hall

The next building on my tour of Eastern Michigan is Sherzer Hall. One of the things I really like about doing this blog is when I start to learn the history behind some of the buildings I take pictures of. This particular building stands out for me because it was nearly burnt down when I was student at Eastern. It was a well loved building, so it got the funding to be completely repaired.

The building was originally constructed in 1903 and as such is one of the oldest buildings on campus. It was originally used as the Naturual Science Building and was called such until it was renamed after Dr. Sherzer in 1957. Dr. Sherzer was a professor of Geology the head of the Department of Natural Sciences. According to legend, it was he who drew out the layout for the building on the back of an envelope.

It's architectural style is called Late Nineteenth Century Eclectic with elements of Georgian Revival and Victorian Romanesque. When the building was built, the University President at the time hoped to expand the College. He wanted to build the Science Building, an auditorium and a new laboratory school. At the time, there were three other teaching schools in the state and funding was limited to the science building (beginning a long trend of the State messing with the University).

The original plan had classrooms on the first floor with offices on the second. There used to be private staircases for the professors so they could avoid the crush of students in the hallway.

In 1922, the telescope was added. In 1989, the building almost burnt down and through a pretty dramatic restoration was reopened in 1992. At that time, the Art Department took the building over.